


Hotter Than Expected

by Resistance



Series: 2013 Draft [2]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Colorado Avalanche, M/M, Tampa Bay Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-18 01:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/874000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resistance/pseuds/Resistance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A phone call is needed after a long day of prospect camp.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hotter Than Expected

Tampa was hotter than Jo expected it to be. They told him it would be, but it was worse than his mind allowed him to assume. The air was thick and heavy and hard to breathe. Someone had told Nate that skating at the altitude that Denver sat at would be hard, but Jo hadn’t expected that breathing would play a factor in his new city. But the air was hot and humid and Jo’s lungs didn’t like working that hard to take in breaths. He was only outside for a few minutes, but it was making him feel like he just ran a marathon. He wondered if he was going to get a chance to grab a quick nap before he had to meet with people. He doubted it.

Denver was hotter than Nate expected it to be. They told him all about the thin air and the altitude, but they didn’t mention anything about the fact that it was hot in the summer. Everything he had in his mind about the city was cold things, like skiing and snow. Even if he knew it was stupid, he expected Denver to be in the middle of winter when he got there. But it was hot in July and that annoyed him for some reason. His weather app told him it wasn’t as hot as Tampa, but that didn’t help the fact that he was hot and that wasn’t fair.

It always surprised Nate how easily a text from Jo could make him feel better. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised. Anything from Jo made him feel better. A look, a touch or god forbid a smile. A text went right along with that. Even if Jo texted him a lot. Like when they were sitting together because he wanted to say something about someone in the room or because he was being his usual quiet self even though he was nothing of the sort in real life. Or because he was having a dirty thought and he knew even whispering it could be overheard and Jo blushed when he was embarrassed.

It was about eleven by the time Nate got back to his room, exhausted. He had a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich that room service had just dropped off. The fries sitting beside them were the thick ones and Nate was disappointed because he liked his fries as crispy as possible and Jo knew that, so he always overcooked them. And these ones were undercooked and too potato-y, even a river of ketchup couldn’t save them. Nate left them uneaten on his plate.

Jo answered the phone on the second line of his ringback tone, which meant his phone was right next to him. “Mmm, Nate?”

“Hey. Were you asleep?”

“Mmhmm, people do that at two in the morning.”

“Oh. Time zones, I forgot. I’m sorry.”

Jo laughed, “I was waiting for you anyway.” He sounded more French when he was sleepy and Nate found it endlessly charming. He hadn’t meant to wake him up in the middle of the night, but since he had, he could enjoy the fact that sometimes he remembered that he had an accent.

“How was your first day of camp?” Nate laughed as soon as the sentence came out, only too late did he wish he’d phrased it differently. Jo laughed too and that was worth feeling like an idiot for a moment.

“Good, I guess. My feet hurt.” Jo made a little whining sound as he sat up in bed and Nate tried to pretend he didn’t hear it and that it didn’t affect him in ways that wouldn’t be useful in an empty hotel room.

“Mine too. Anyone talk about me?” He laughed.

“Second question they asked me. They wanted to know if playing with Stamkos was going to be like playing with you.”

Nate heard a low growl come from somewhere, but it took a moment before he realized it was him. “Yeah?”

Jo laughed, “Jealous?”

“No.”

“I told them that we’re amazing together and we’d see about Stamkos. But you know the real answer. Nothing will ever be like playing with you. I will never be able to read anyone’s mind like I can yours. Don’t be jealous. Someday we’ll play together again and we’ll show them where the real magic is.”

Nate was silent for a moment. “Damn, I’m lucky.”

“Me too. And you have nothing to worry about.”

Nate sighed, “I know. Really. It’s just…--“

Jo cut him off, “No, I mean you _really_ have nothing to worry about.”

“Why? Is Stamkos straight or something? Did you talk to him that much? Like about his sex life and shit? How much time did you spend with him?” Nate paused at the sound of Jo’s laugh, “I mean… fuck, you know what I mean!”

“Deep breath. What I meant was that he told me about how he understands like what we're going through, his _boyfriend_ plays in Denver too.”

“Oh.” Nate was silent a moment. “Oh, but—wait, you told him about us too? Like out loud?”

“Mmhmm.”

Nate flopped down onto his bed, “That’s the best thing I heard all day. On two counts. That you’re talking about us and that you’re talking! Wait! Who’s his boyfriend?”

“That’s the other funny part.”

“There’s more funny parts?”

“Yeah. Steve Downie.”

“Oh. _Oh_.” Nate started laughing, “That’s fuckin’ fate right there.”

“I know! Stamkos kinda got mad when I started laughing when he told me who he was with. I felt so bad! I think I went into half French apologizing. I’m sure I was bright red. I laughed at him! When he told me about his boyfriend. Like that’s exactly how I want my new teammate to think of me, that I’m an asshole.”

Nate was still laughing so hard he could barely get the words out, “What’d he say?”

“He just—stop laughing at me! It was embarrassing!”

Nate cleared his throat, took in a few deep breaths and managed to contain his amusement. “Sorry. Really, Jo, I’m sorry, that’s just a great story. But wait, I've got a question. How’d he start _that_ conversation? Like did he just come up to you and be all like ‘you have a boy?’ or something? Did he hit on you?”

“No.” Jo didn't offer anymore.

“Then how’d he know?”

“He asked what it meant.”

“What _what_ meant?”

“The 1858.6 on my stick.”

“You wrote it on your stick?”

“Well, kinda.”

Nate paused for a long moment. “I love you, Jonathan.”

“I love you too, Nathan.”

**Author's Note:**

> Patrick Roy told Nate that he'd start the season on a line with Steve Downie and Jamie McGinn. [[x](http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/avalanche/2013/07/01/nathan-mackinnon-colorado-avalanche/2481327/)]


End file.
